John Wall is still a young player in the NBA, still learning how to lead a team. Few people would have blamed him for taking the easy way out when things weren’t going according to plan.

Wall, however, is cut from a different cloth. He didn’t flinch. He stayed the course, weathering whatever the haters and naysayers threw at him and his team, and helped guide the Wizards through the tumult of the first two weeks of yet another injury-plagued season. What looked like a potential meltdown waiting to happen two weeks ago appears to be back on track today, what with the Wizards fresh off of an 8-8 November (the franchise’s highest win total in that month since 1984).

Wall refused to panic and would not allow his teammates to do so either as they picked up the pieces early and kept grinding until they figured some things out. That 2-7 start is a thing of the past. The Wizards, winners of six of their last 10 games, are poised to continue their climb upward tonight against the Orlando Magic (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

“I think everybody [else] panicked,” Wall said after Saturday’s 108-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks. “We didn’t panic because we know we have a good team and we know we have a team that’s capable of being in the playoffs. We know we got off to a rough start . . . but we figured out a way to win.”

With Bradley Beal sidelined with injury (for at least another week), Trevor Ariza joining him on the injured list and veterans like Nene clashing with youngsters in the locker room, things could have gotten a lot uglier before they got better. That 2-7 start could mushroomed into something even worse. Coach Randy Wittman is always on the hot seat and the sluggish start can only serve to make matters more complicated for a coach in this league.

“It was a tough start to the month, to the season. I don’t think any of us wanted the start we had, but it happened,” Wittman said. “And there’s going to be stretches again during this year where we have to get ourselves out of this and get on a run. To do what we did in this month with the schedule we had and the road games, I think it’s good. I think you have to be ready to take advantage of the situation when it turns your way.”

The Wizards banded together and worked their way out of that early season mess to move into a position to reach the .500 mark, provided they handle the Magic tonight, since Wall arrived with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft. This is what Wizards owner Ted Leonsis was talking about all summer, when he was praising Wall as (and paying him to be) the leader of this bunch.

“Never in our minds did we doubt that we were not this team that we’ve built all these expectations up to be,” said Martell Webster, whose contributions during this resurgence have been critical. “We’re headed in the right direction. We’re not at .500 yet. We have the opportunity to be there Monday. The goal is to get, of course, way above .500. It’s just consistency. Realizing the fact that when we play the game the right way, we tend to get great results.”

Now that they are on the rebound, chasing those expectations should be a bit more manageable. That brutal opening stretch of the schedule that saw them face a virtual who’s who of league powers from both sides of the conference divide, and 10 of 16 away from home, is over. Once they get Beal, their leading scorer, back, things should get a little easier for Wall. And we still haven’t seen prized rookie Otto Porter Jr. (hip flexor), who just started practicing full tilt.

But no matter what happens, we’ve already learned a good lesson about the Wizards.

One small correction to NBA TV announcer saying Wall said he’s the best point guard in the eastern conference. The other announcers said, He said that? Yes he did. No he didn’t. He was asked what did he want to accomplish (or something to that effect) and he said to be the best point guard ever. I wanted him to say ONE of the best…

The Wizards are feeling pretty good these days. John Wall’s play of late is just the answer they were looking for to the questions of whether he was worth that 5 year $80 million extension and make “the leap” to be a franchise player and All-Star caliber point guard. But despite Wall recently earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors and the Wizards racking up 8 wins in November for the first time since 1984, they may want to hold off on breathing a sigh of relief just yet. The Wizards may be winning some games and Wall may be shining early on, but at what cost? Wall is currently averaging 37.6 minutes per game which is the 6th highest in the league. Head coach Randy Wittman has had to rely heavily on his starters as the Wizards bench production is practically non-existent. The Wizards bench ranks last in the NBA in both points and in efficiency, and nowhere is the weakness in the 2nd unit more glaring than at the point. The off-season signing of Eric Maynor, initially viewed as a solid addition, has turned out to be a complete disaster. Maynor has been absolutely dreadful, averaging just 2.9 points per game and shooting 33%. With Wall logging so many minutes early into the season and knowing the Wizards long history of misfortune (see: “Curse O’ Les Boulez”) one can only wonder if fatigue or worse will catch up with the speedy Wall somewhere down the line.

You have to realize that his minutes will not stay like this and the bench scoring will increase. All of this is being done without Otto Porter, who hasn’t played yet this season, Bradley Beal, who has been hurt the past couple games, Al Harrington, who hasn’t played much this season, and Nene from time to time. Webster will return to the bench and give us some scoring from there. Porter will do the same once he is back from injury and so will Harrington. Considering what we are going through right now being a game under .500 is better than I was expecting.